Lakeside got its start in 1908 as part of the City Beautiful movement that was popular in the United States in the
early 1900s. Adolph Zang was a brewer that wanted to open a park, so he literally founded the city of Lakeside,
Colorado, and he formed the Lakeside Realty and Amusement Company. Because the new town was outside of Denver, it didn't have
to worry about the blue laws that prohibited alcohol sales on Sundays. Being its own city, Lakeside had its own Mayor, police and fire
departments, and a jail cell was literally built in the basement of one the park's buildings. Lakeside
park was planned to cover 57 of the city's 160 acres while the
remaining land was going to be up-scale housing, but these homes never were built. Because
of its abundance of electrical lights, the park was often called White City in its early days. The tower at the
main entrance was built in the early twentieth century when electric lights
were still a novelty, and the tower, which is over 110 years old, still stands today. Adolph Zang sold
the park in 1913. The park went bankrupt in 1917 and was purchased by local
investors, but it went bankrupt again in 1933. Benjamin Krasner purchased the park in 1935. His daughter Rhoda currently owns and
manages the park.

There were approximately 5,000 amusement parks in the early 1900s, but only around 100 have survived to the present day. When Lakeside celebrated its
100th anniversary in 2008, only 27 other American family-owned amusement parks had stayed in business for 100 years.

In 2018, the park was installing a Zyklon / Galaxi steel coaster built in the early 1970s by Pinfari. The coaster
has been previously operated in many locations under different names including Zyklon in Branson's Celebration City
and Big Ohhhh! in Ohmaha's Fun Plex. At the end of the 2018 season, the ride has
not opened in Denver, and I haven't even seen it given a name yet. The following coasters have been removed from Lakeside:

Scenic Railway (1908-1911) was a wood coaster that was destroyed by a fire.

Velvet Coaster (1908-1911) was a wood coaster that was destroyed by the same fire.

Derby (1911-1939) was a double-track out-and-back racing coaster. It was designed by the
famous roller coaster creator John A. Miller.

Tickler (dates unknown) was an inclined platform where the cars descended and bounced off
rails. Opened in the park's
first few years, it was extremely rough on
passengers and only operated for a few months.